if ever the expression “your mileage may vary” were true, this would be the time. this was, according to everything i could find, a 1-1/2 mile out-and-back. pfft. my final total for the hike on my iPhone gps was 4.83 miles. little bit different. and nothing mentioned two blazed hiking trails. there was only supposed to be a blue trail, but there were numerious offshoots blazed orange! still, a good walk in a very nice park. and it must be school vacation week, because the park was well populated with young people… late teens, early 20’s. it was a little intimidating.

two bridges

the trail starts out crossing a brook, and then shortly afterward, another brook. and at the second crossing, there were two footbridges. the closer one, i guess, was made difficult to get to thanks to the blowdown, but the farther one was fine. it was shortly past here that the first orange-blazed trail split off.

cliff

one of the highlights that i read about this park is the view from the cliffs, which i never actually saw. this set of cliffs is not the one they were talking about, and it’s kind of at the end of the hike anyway. and the trail just kind of circles around it.

squaw rock trail head

this is the southern terminus of the hike, at squaw rock road. the park runs between route 6 and route 395, and you’re never really far from the road noise.

hemlock babies

there were a lot of old hemlocks in this one section close to the parking area, and it was encouraging to see so many healthy baby hemlocks growing up among the old trees.

i have added old furnace state park to the hikefinder, but i’m making my own map. there are a lot of unblazed trails all through here, and i didn’t explore them, so i left them off. i have just put in the blazed trails.